Cytochrome P450-catalysed arene-epoxidation of the bioactive tea tree oil ingredient p-cymene: indication for the formation of a reactive allergenic intermediate?

1. The cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism of the tea tree oil ingredient p-cymene (p-isopropyltoluene) was studied by the application of in vitro enzymatic assays using different recombinant human cytochrome P450 enzymes. 2. In total, four enzymatic products were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The enzymatic products identified were: thymol (2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol), p-isopropylbenzyl alcohol, p,alpha,alpha-trimethylbenzyl alcohol, and p-isopropylbenzaldehyde. 3. The enzymatic products of p-cymene resulted from catalysed enzymatic arene-epoxidation and hydroxylation reactions by the studied cytochrome P450 enzymes. 4. An in vivo study could only confirm the formation of one enzymatic product, namely thymol. Thymol was identified after enzymatic hydrolysis of glucuronide and sulphate conjugates in collected blood and urine samples. 5. The obtained results may help to increase the understanding of cases where skin sensitization and irritation by tea tree oil-containing products that are involved with allergic reactions of users of these products. The results also indicate that skin sensitization and irritation reactions not only can be explained by the frequently in literature reported auto-oxidation of tea tree resulting in bioactive oxidized products, but also now by the formation of epoxide intermediates resulting from catalysed arene-epoxidation reactions by selected human cytochrome P450 enzymes which are also located in different organs in humans.

Study on the cytochrome P450-mediated oxidative metabolism of the terpene alcohol linalool: indication of biological epoxidation.

The cytochrome P450-mediated oxidative metabolism of the terpene alcohol linalool was studied in vitro by enzymatic assays using recombinant human cytochrome P450 enzymes. Three different enzymatic products of allylic hydroxylation and epoxidation were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Identified enzymatic products were 8-hydroxylinalool ((R/S)-3,7-dimethyl-1,6-octadiene-3,8-diol) and the cyclic ethers pyranoid-linalool oxide ((R/S)-2,2,6-trimethyl-6-vinyltetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-ol) and furanoid-linalool oxide (R/S)-2-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-5-methyl-5-vinyltetrahydrofuran. The cyclic ethers result most likely from the epoxidation of the 6,7-carbon double carbon bond of (R/S)-linalool, followed by the intramolecular rearrangement of the 6,7-epoxy-linalool. Allylic-hydroxylation of the 8-methyl group of linalool was catalyzed by CYP2C19 and CYP2D6 while the enzymatic epoxidation of linalool was only observed with CYP2D6. The results indicate that the electrophilic oxidation products of linalool such as 6,7-epoxy-linalool which may cause sensitization and irritational skin reactions are not only produced by auto-oxidation reactions in the presence of air-oxygen as published in the past, but also by P450-mediated oxidative biological transformation.